Wow. Such action, much speed. This game gets brutally hard on King. I played on Beginner because I'm a chicken. This game is splendid and was fun to race through at blistering speeds.

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 5:49 pm

by nullPointer

@MrPopo: I suspect (though there's no way to confirm this), that what HowLongToBeat refers to as the "completionist" style of play means that you earn all the achievements in the game. For Bioshock 2 there are several achievements related specifically to multiplayer, so maybe that's skewing their results. OTOH, they list that figure under single player statistics, so who knows? I seem to take quite a bit longer than most to complete single player FPS campaigns, and even I was still able to slog through it in 46.5 hrs.

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 5:54 pm

by MrPopo

How did it take you 46.5 hours to beat Bioshock 2?

HowLongToBeat is entirely from user submissions. You don't need an account, you just submit a form that has the various boxes filled in (time to beat, time completion, etc).

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 7:14 pm

by nullPointer

MrPopo wrote:How did it take you 46.5 hours to beat Bioshock 2?

Heh, at the risk of being self referential,

nullPointer wrote:I seem to take quite a bit longer than most to complete single player FPS campaigns

But to answer your question more specifically, the first two Bioshock games reward the player for experimenting with various combinations of plasmids, tonics, and weapons. This will often yield a 'strategic sweet spot' in most situations, but it can take some trial and error to get it dialed in. As a result I'll often replay encounters in order to best use my powers in combination with environmental elements. Me: "Hmm ... I'll use a decoy to draw this big sister into a electrically charged cyclone trap fortified with mini turrets. Then when she comes down I'll launch this explosive tank encrusted with proximity mines at her"

Ultimately though I tend to take my time with games in general. For me it's as much about the experience, as it is about completion. Especially with something like Bioshock, I like to soak in the tone and atmosphere of the game as much as possible. With a few exceptions I also tend to go at least a few years between replays. So when I play to completion I like to feel like I've seen and done everything the game can offer.

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Sonic Advance 2 is a really interesting entry of in the series that holds up pretty well. I feel like people kinda forget about the handheld sonic games, but the quality of them over the GBA and DS lifespan was pretty good, especially in comparison to the console entries.

Sonic Advance 2 has a real focus on speed - levels are fast, full of grind rails and boosters, and rarely does the game slow down. Levels even start with a running start, and the finish line measures how fast you were running when you pass it.

For the most part, it works really well - the levels are fast and frantic, and whilst often a bit easy, they offer enough challenge to not constantly slow you down or feel cheap (some irritatingly placed enemies aside) whilst not being a complete pushover either.

One of the later zones (zone 5 - a cliff stage) is a pain in the ass though - lots of bottomless pits and awkward springs that throw you in awkward patterns making it quite easy to die. And die I did - this was as far as I got as Sonic (I beat the game as Cream, who was much easier to use). That said, this stage design wasn't the reason I game overed.

Bosses in Sonic Advance 2 also take place whilst running, kinda like the first boss in sonic & knuckles - and whilst I like that this fits the games fast pace, the boss design is too finnicky for the physics when running - one boss on the ice level cost me a ton of lives as slopes in the terrain made dodging certain attacks nigh on impossible. The bosses suck, and let down what is otherwise a top tier sonic title.

The one other mechanic I didn't like was the special stages - not the stages themselves (I didn't play any), but the requirement to enter them - which requires finding 10 items in a stage in a single run - requiring not only flawless play, as most are missable, but also forcing you down a set route, which defeats the point of Sonic's level design imo.

That said, the game is still a pretty great time and definitely worth a play. It looks and sounds great, has some memorable levels, good replay value and decent level design. A highlight in the series during the 2000s.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Whilst the leisurely pace of Captain Toad is quite in contrast to Sonic Advance 2, the bitesize puzzles make playing it feel just as speedy to progress.

Captain Toad is an absolutely charming game from start to finish - the graphics are gorgeous, the characters are lovable and even the enemies exhibit wonderful amounts of character. The music is nothing mind-blowing, but fits the games cutesy and charming 'adventure' theme wonderfully.

Level designs are fun and interesting - like Mario 3D World they throw new ideas at you frequently and not many levels feel alike. That said, none of them were difficult, even when completing the optional challenges and collecting the hidden gems, and I really wish there had been more, harder levels to enjoy.

Captain Toad was released as a budget game, and I really wish it had been a full price release with more content instead. It's a blast from start to finish and the main flaws were it's low difficulty and short length - both of which could've been alleviated with a bunch more levels.

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:56 pm

by REPO Man

MrPopo wrote:How the hell can Bioshock 2 take 70 hours to complete?

Does that include the side quests? Getting lost? Coming back after weeks or months and then forgetting what you were doing and then just wandering around trying to figure out what to do, and then figure out what you were supposed to do AFTER going in the completely opposite direction for an excessive amount of time?

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 11:55 pm

by Xeogred

Hot damn. I put in ~18 hours or something according to Steam on Bioshock 2 + Minerva's Den, and I thought I was taking my time.

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Call of Chthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is an immersive, survival-horror, first-person adventure game based on H.P. Lovecraft's writings (particularly, The Shadow of Innsmouth and The Shadow Out of Time). In it, you play a private investigator sent to the town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts to locate a missing person. The townsfolk are less than welcoming, and your investigation eventually uncovers a vast and terrifying conspiracy.

Despite the game's far-fetched premise, its mechanics emphasize realism. There is no HUD, and you have to judge your character's health listening to his heartbeat, analyzing his injuries, etc. (If sounds are muffled, color is fading from the screen, and your reaction time starts dropping precipitously, you are bleeding to death.) All but one of the weapons are from the first-half of the twentieth century; they all take time to reload; and if you keep them aimed for too long, your arms will get tired (and your accuracy will drop). Treating your wounds requires a first-aid kit; takes the better part of a minute; and does not result in immediate recovery of your health. Finally, you have to count your shots to know when to reload, and counting your enemies' shots is a very effective combat technique. (If your enemy has a double-barreled shotgun, it is best to wait untilhe has fired off two rounds before mounting your attack.)

The emphasis on realism - and your character's distinctly human fragility - make the game incredibly tense. (You can kill most of your enemies with a well-placed shot, but they can drop you just as quickly. You have to find safe-locations to treat your wonds. Falling from even a modest height will kill or wound you.) Moreover, the game has a fantastic "sanity" mechanic that makes some of its most exciting moments even more hectic. (Looking at the game's horrors will blur your vision and result in hallucinations. Looking down from great heights will cause vertigo.)

The game is also incredibly well-designed. Despite my discussion of combat mechanics, you spend most of the game unarmed. Accordingly, the game emphasizes evasion, stealth, and creative problem-solving, and it is much more of a first-person adventure game than a first-person shooter. The enemies react realistically to your actions. They are much smarter than the brain-dead soldiers in the Metal Gear Solid games, and they will not stop pursuing you just because you ran down a hall way or closed a door. (In fact, they will break down the door, and search every corner of a room until they find and kill you.)

Finally, several of the set pieces are simply amazing. The ambush at the hotel, the escape from Innsmouth, the assault on the Marsh refinery, the voyage on the USS Urania, and the battle with the flying polyps are among the best set-pieces in any game.

The game is not entirely without its flaws, however. I encountered several bugs during my playthrough, and the game froze on multiple occassions. It is also brutally difficult, and the solutions to many of the game's "puzzles" are not easily uncovered. I therefore cannot recommend it to anyone who is easily discouraged or frustrated.

Nonetheless, it is, IMO, one of the very best games of its generation. It is, as I mentioned above, incredibly well-designed. Moreover, it is very faithful to H.P. Lovecraft's work, and the settings (particularly, Innsmouth and the Yith civilization) match his decriptions precisely. Accordingly, I highly, highly recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of H.P. Lovecraft's work, a fan of survival-horror, or a fan of challenging first-person advenure games.

Re: Games Beaten 2015

Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:25 pm

by J T

Nice Call of Cthulu review. I need to get back to that game at some point. Your review reminds me of all that I liked about it.